The Class of 2020 celebrates an InterContinental prom

Credit: Josh Schreiber

Students of the Class of 2020 pose in front of the hotel with their dates. “My favorite part about prom was getting dressed up and being with all my friends, being able to dance and just have a good time,” Arden Knapp said. Knapp is a member of the Class of 2020 E-Board.

The Class of 2020 gathered at the InterContinental Hotel in Boston alongside the Charles River on May 18. Students from the sophomore, junior and senior classes dressed to the nines, ready to dance their hearts out with friends. Junior class president Ciara Murphy, along with the Class of 2020’s officers and its e-board, had been planning this event for years.

“I think this prom was a success. I hope everyone had a good time between all aspects of the event. Pre-prom, prom, late-night – everything went smoothly,” Murphy said. “There were no complications with anything, and I am very thankful to our amazing class, our e-board, and our adviser [Lee Krasnoo] for making this event possible.”

With planning an event as large as prom, there are hundreds of little complications that could arise while planning or while the event is in progress. Although Murphy had some worries about how everything would run, she was pleasantly surprised at how the night unfolded without a hitch.

“There are a lot of things that could go wrong that [are] out of my hands and our e-board’s hands, so I am really grateful for the class for being respectful and being mature and for making sure everything goes smoothly,” Murphy said.

While the Class of 2020 put immense effort into planning the event, the class dynamic was what made this prom one to remember.

“I think our class is a great class. Everyone is close and has fun with each other. The dancing was absolutely awesome. We were shaking the hotel so badly that there was a complaint on the 15th floor saying that the room was shaking,” Murphy said. “The venue was also extremely beautiful since it was on the waterfront. The ballroom that we were in had this amazing glass wall where you looked over the city, so that was pretty amazing as well.”

Junior Arden Knapp, a member of the e-board, took part in planning the prom. Although the night was successful, Knapp still had some concerns prior to the event.

“I had some worries that kids wouldn’t be as appreciative, but I think that everyone was really happy,” Knapp said. “I was also a little nervous that we wouldn’t have enough time for pictures, but it ended up working out well.”

According to Knapp, prom had a reputation of being “not fun,” but this year, that rumor was proved wrong.

“My expectations were met and exceeded. Like I said, everything ran smoothly, [and] everyone was really happy to be there,” Knapp said. “I think that prom has gotten a bad reputation over the past few years as not being that fun, but I think that this year, being with our grade and dancing the whole night, it was a lot of fun.”

Knapp thought that the event overall was great, as she had an awesome time with her friends and students from other grades.

“I think the prom was really fun. The food was awesome, the venue was really nice. I think that the buses were good [and that] pre-prom ran smoothly. I think that, overall, Ciara Murphy, our class president, and all the other officers in our grade did a really good job of pulling it off,” Knapp said.

Junior Kyle Mabe was delighted with how the prom ran, as his expectations were also exceeded.

“I think the prom was fun. I had a really good time with all my friends, and the environment [was great]. People said it was very tiring, but I wasn’t that tired until 3 a.m. when I was at my friend’s,” Mabe said.

Like Knapp, Mabe had heard that prom isn’t fun from older peers, but his opinion differed.

“I heard from previous times from other people that prom wasn’t that fun, but I think that Ciara did a really good job, and it exceeded what I thought,” Mabe said.

Although it took years of dedication and hard work to plan and fund, Murphy wouldn’t change any part of the process.

“I would do the whole thing over just to experience it again,” Murphy said.